This invention relates to cooling towers, and, more particularly, to a cooling tower having a heat and mass transfer section which is formed from interlocked open-celled tiles.
Cooling towers are used to cool liquid for many applications, for example, for air conditioning systems, nuclear power plants, etc. It is desirable that cooling towers, particularly cooling towers which are used in nuclear power plants, be resistant to earthquakes and tremors so that the cooling tower will continue to provide efficient cooling during and after an earthquake.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,129,627 describes a cooling tower which is protected from airborne missiles during tornadoes. The heat and mass transfer section of this cooling tower is provided by layers of open-celled tiles. Each layer of tiles is supported by the next lower level, and the tiles of each layer are preferably spaced from each other to facilitate efficient heat and mass transfer as liquid falls downwardly through the layers of tiles and air is drawn upwardly through the tiles. While this cooling tower is protected from tornadoes, a high level excitation earthquake can cause the tiles to be rearranged so that the efficiency of the cooling tower may be reduced.
The invention utilizes interlocking tiles which are resistant to lateral shifting or movement during earthquakes. Each tile includes two corner projections and two recessed portions, and the corner projections of each tile fit into an interlock with the recessed portions of two adjacent tiles. The tiles of each layer are confined by the side wall of the cooling tower, and the side wall and the interlocking of the tiles prevent the tiles from shifting. The cells of the tiles are provided by intersecting partitions, and the tiles provide optimum heat and mass transfer when the intersections of each tile are centered over the cells of the tiles immediately below. The optimum relationship is maintained during earthquakes by the interlocked tiles.